Ending his watch

Firefighter Jay Johnson has retired from the Ville Platte Fire Department after nearly 27 years of service. He did not always want to be a fireman, though. When he graduated from Ville Platte High in 1991, he went to school to be a phlebotomist, but it did not go as planned. He knew a few guys who were linemen with Universal Electric, so when a lineman position came up, he took it. He worked mostly in Texas, but with a child on the way, he wanted to be closer to home in Ville Platte. When his father, John Wayne Johnson, retired after over 20 years of service as a VPFD fireman, Jay applied for the open position with the department in November of 1994.
Jay did not have many close calls in his career working in a small town. “You have bad fires. Everything is dangerous, but it’s not like high-rise buildings in a big city,” he said. When asked what he liked most about being a fireman, Jay said, “Just serving the people of my community and trying to save lives and property. It’s not a real high-paying job, but the benefits, if you can stay long enough, you can retire at a decent age and get a decent pension.” Fighting fires runs in the family. He has two brothers, Jonathon and Justin, who are volunteer firemen. His nephew, Zachary Johnson, is also a fireman, making three generations of Johnsons at the VPFD.
Jay and his wife, Kristi, married in 2008. Between the two of them, they have four children: C.J., Zachary, Jerod, and Kelsie. His mother’s name is Janice, and he noted how he, his parents and siblings all have the initials J.J.
Now that he is retired, Jay is keeping busy with his storage unit business, Jay’s Store It, in Turkey Creek and Chataignier, and he has a landscaping business. He said he retired just in time for hunting season and is ready to hunt deer and squirrels. He said of his job as a fireman, “I really enjoyed it, and I’m going to miss working with all the guys over the years.”